United States Halts Immigration Applications from 19 Countries

The Donald Trump administration has halted immigration applications submitted by nationals from 19 countries that already faced restrictions on travel to the United States, according to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) memo. The application hold pertains to people from 19 countries the Trump administration designated as high risk who are trying to get their immigration statuses processed by the agency. The list primarily targets African and Asian countries. The list of countries targeted in Wednesday's memorandum includes Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, which were subjected to the most severe immigration restrictions in June, including a full suspension on entries with a few exceptions. Others on the list of 19 countries, which were subjected to partial restrictions in June, are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. The new policy places a hold on pending applications and mandates that all immigrants from the list of countries "undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats." The memorandum cited several recent crimes suspected to have been committed by immigrants, including the National Guard attack. Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the organization had received reports of cancelled oath ceremonies, naturalization interviews and adjustment of status interviews for individuals from countries listed on the travel ban. "USCIS has considered that this direction may result in delay to the adjudication of some pending applications and has weighed that consequence against the urgent need for the agency to ensure that applicants are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible," the agency said in a four-page policy memo. "Ultimately, USCIS has determined that the burden of processing delays that will fall on some applicants is necessary and appropriate in this instance, when weighed against the agency’s obligation to protect and preserve national security," it added. The New York Times first reported the immigration pause, which applies to both green card and citizenship applicants. A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that the Trump administration is "making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best." "Citizenship is a privilege, not a right. We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake," the spokesperson added. The move comes less than week after two National Guard members were shot on patrol in Washington, D.C., leaving one dead and the other critically wounded. The suspect, who pleaded not guilty to murder Tuesday, is an Afghan national who entered the United States legally during the Biden administration and was granted asylum after President Donald Trump took office for a second time. According to USCIS, more than 1.4 million people have pending asylum applications that could be affected by the new pause.